Hot And Cold Aren't Antonyms
by arandomshipper
Summary: Modern AU. Elsa and Anna were very close, until the day Elsa began to shut her sister out. Anna has no idea why, but they've been estranged for years. Now, their mother browbeats Elsa into allowing Anna to stay in her apartment for college. Age-gap expanded, Anna-centric. Rating is for censored cuss words and dark themes.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I'm not an owner, I'm just a random shipper.

 **Hot And Cold Aren't Antonyms**

Anna was a generally happy person. She was optimistic and cheerful, always ready to look on the bright side of everything. Well, almost everything. There was one constant source of sadness in her life: Her sister, Elsa.

Anna's fondest memories were of the two of them playing together. They were seven years apart, but Elsa never treated Anna like a baby. Instead, she included Anna in every aspect of her life, no matter how it might inconvenience her. The two weren't just sisters, they were best friends. Inseparable. Sometimes actually physically inseparable. Elsa loved to hold Anna, and when she got too big to be held anymore, she gave her constant hugs instead. Anna loved Elsa's hugs, they were the best.

All of that stopped when Anna was seven and Elsa fourteen. Anna remembered the day clearly when everything changed. Elsa was sitting on the couch, reading a book, when Anna snuck up and threw herself onto her sister, as she had done many, many times in the past, burying her face into Elsa's chest. But this time, rather than laughing and squeezing her back as she usually did, a frequent lead-in to a tickle fight (which Elsa always won, Anna was much more ticklish), Elsa threw sister off of her roughly, stood up, a wild look in her eye, and ran from the room, shutting herself into her own room.

To this very day, Anna had no idea what she did wrong. All she knew is that her sister, her favorite person in the world, now hated her for some reason. Elsa never voluntarily talked to her again. If Anna tried to touch her, she jerked away violently.

Anna had been vaguely aware that Elsa was a private person. People called her a 'recluse' and an 'introvert', but none of that had any bearing on their relationship, so it was a side of Elsa that Anna herself had never witnessed before. Now she got to see her sister as others did, an Ice Queen of the highest order, not deigning to speak to the rest of humanity unless it was absolutely necessary. The pain this caused Anna was almost unimaginable. The person she looked up to most in the world, the person she _loved_ most in the world, had no use for her. Night after night she cried herself to sleep, trying to figure out what she had done wrong, trying to think of a way to fix it.

Four years this continued. On the very day of Elsa's eighteenth birthday, she moved out of the house. Their parents put up very little protest. She had been shutting them out as well, and they had long since given up on her, unlike Anna. As far as they were concerned, they had lived the last four years with one daughter, and one ghost taking up space in the house. Their mother did sympathize with Anna's pain however, frequently comforting her as she cried over her sister, which only caused a greater rift between Elsa and her mother. Her advice to Anna was always the same. Forget about the person shutting you out, like I have. Ignore her like she ignores you. Don't care so much about her when she obviously cares so little for you. Sometimes, Anna wished she could follow that advice, but she found herself completely unable to. No matter how much it hurt, she would always care for Elsa.

With Elsa out of the house, Anna was able to more or less move on with her life, the pain fading to the back of her mind. She was still the happy, cheerful person she had always been, after all. She made lots of friends and filled her days with activities of all kinds throughout Jr. High and High School. Life was good, despite the faint longing that never quite went away.

Anna's grades were good. Very good. Not as good as Elsa's had been, but she was top ten in her school on a consistent basis. As she approached the end of her Senior year, she applied to various colleges, including UCLA, though she had very little hope of being accepted there.

When the acceptance letter came, she almost didn't know what to do. It was by far the best school that had accepted her, but moving to Los Angeles? She was a small town girl, and very, very apprehensive about leaving her parents and all her friends behind to live in such a huge city. She had many talks with her parents about her plans, sharing her fears with them, which they understood. They tried to encourage her while at the same time leaving all the decision-making in her hands, but after many discussions, she still hadn't reached a conclusion. She was leaning towards just going to a smaller local college where she would have the comfort of friends and family around her, until the day she walked into the kitchen to find her mother in conversation with someone on the phone. Her mother didn't notice her, and she was able to hear half of the conversation.

"No, you need to do this! Because I said so, that's why! When have I ever asked you for anything before? No, I know you don't ask me for anything either, but **** it, you owe me! You owe _her_! You have no idea how much suffering you've caused that child, this is the very least you could do to make up for some of it! OF COURSE I BLAME YOU, WHO ELSE IS THERE?!"

Anna ran out of the room at this, the phone call had just turned into a shouting match, something she just couldn't handle. She wondered who her mom had been talking to and what they'd been talking about that had gotten her usually calm mother so riled up and bent out of shape.

Later that night, while she was sitting on her bed reading, her mother walked into her room and sat next to her, giving her a hug. "Good news sweetie. If you still want to go to UCLA, I found someone you know that you can live with. She lives just off campus, within walking distance."

"Someone I know?" Anna asked, puzzled. She was pretty sure she didn't know anyone living in LA. "Who?"

"Elsa."

A/N: I'm terrible. Terrible. I've got freaking SIX ongoing stories, none of which I am updating at a decent pace...and I add another. TERRIBLE! But I'm sure all you Frozen fans don't care about that, you just care that there's another Frozen fic out there now. Well, here's to hoping I can manage some proper updates in the weeks ahead.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: To the guest who left a question as a review, as well as anyone else who may be wondering the same thing, even if they haven't actually asked me: I reserve the right to form such pairings as I see fit, when I see fit, how I see fit, without so much as a hint of warning, and I may very well end up exercising that right, because I have no fear of flames. Let the flames rage on, the heat never bothered me anyway. ROTFL I sincerely hope I wasn't the first person to drop that line, it was way, way too easy. Of course, it's not LITERALLY true. I can't stand the heat. I like my weather in the mid-fifties F. But metaphorically, yeah. Flame away. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a ****. That's what it means to be a random shipper.

Disclaimer: I'm not an owner, I'm just a random shipper.

 **Hot And Cold Aren't Antonyms**

At first, Anna was estatic. Not only did it solve her problem, far more importantly, she would finally, finally reconcile with her sister. It was everything she'd been longing for for the last eleven years of her life. She would be living with Elsa again, and this time would be different. She hoped.

Her hopes were dashed within seconds of arriving at Elsa's apartment. She knocked on the door. When the door opened, she could do nothing but stare at the vision before her. Elsa stared back at her, many, many different emotions flittering through her eyes, none of which Anna recognized. Anna herself felt nothing but pure happiness at finally seeing her sister's face after all these years.

"Elsa." She whispered, tears of joy beginning to drip down her face, as she took a step towards her, arms out to catch her in an embrace. Instantly, Elsa's face closed off completely, once again becoming the hated mask Anna was so familiar with.

"Don't touch me." She said coldly, putting her hand out, though she didn't need to physically stop Anna in her tracks. Her tone of voice was sufficient to the task.

In that moment, Anna knew that she had been wrong. Nothing had changed. Living with Elsa would indeed be a return to the past, but not the past of her early childhood that she longed for, the past of her greatest torment. Being so close to the person she loved most, with daily reminders that she was not loved back. She felt sick. She wanted to turn and run, to go back home where it was safe, to beat up her stupid self and her stupid hopes of a few weeks ago. But she didn't. She was an adult now. She'd already registered for classes at UCLA. She had responsibilities.

Elsa settled her in with her typical brevity, quick and efficient, with the bare minimum of communication. As they brought in the last of the boxes and set them down, she spoke more words than Anna had heard from her in the last eleven years combined.

"I'm sure you know that Mom basically forced me into this. It wasn't my decision to let you live here. But, since you're here, you're going to follow my rules. Don't go in my room. Be home by ten. If you make a mess, clean it up. No friends over, ever, for any reason. And most importantly-"

"Don't touch you." Anna finished angrily.

Something unrecognizable flickered once again across Elsa's face, so quickly Anna wasn't sure she hadn't imagined it. "Good. So you know."

"Of course I know. It's the only thing you've said to me for the last who knows how many years."

"Anna-"

"If you need me, and I know you won't, because you don't, I'll be in my room." Anna stormed into her room and slammed the door without a word of protest from her sister. She threw herself onto her bed and buried her face into her pillow, great, silent sobs racking her body.

She didn't think she could face this again. The first time was bad enough, now she was alone. No friends and family, an unfamiliar city, the pressure of doing well in a difficult college, living with a person who twisted the knife in her heart every time they interacted. She needed something. Anything.

She got on her computer and did somthing she never thought she would do. She started a blog, calling herself HappyNoLucky7. She vented all her feelings, describing her general situation without giving names or details. It was a cry for help. She needed someone to tell her that it was okay, that things weren't as bad as they seemed, that they would get better.

She began getting comments fairly quickly, some of them encouraging, others just demeaning her for whining. Always an emotional person, she could feel her mood rise and fall with the comments. Then she found one that stood out to her. IceMasterKris had some things to say that really resonated with her.

 _From how you've described your sister, it sounds like she has Haphephobia, and is also an extreme introvert to boot. While I don't know the situation perfectly, it's impossible to describe a lifetime relationship in one blog, I really, really don't think she hates you as much as you think she does. She probably just has an exceptionally difficult time expressing her feelings. I'm pretty introverted myself, so I know exactly how it feels to be someone everyone thinks of as a cold, uncaring person just because I don't gush my feelings everywhere. I think you should just try not to take it personally when she acts like that, since it sounds like she treats everyone else the same._

Anna could almost believe the words she read from this person, even though it was entirely unconvincing when she had tried to tell herself the same kinds of things all those times. It was like she could tell the writer had true insight into the mind of a repressed person, lending more weight to their words. Nevertheless, it didn't completely erase all the bad feelings that had accumulated over the years. She decided to reply to the reply.

 _But we were so close when we were younger. She didn't used to act like this at all. Towards me, at least. She loved me! And then one day, she didn't. Isn't it kind of impossible to not take that personally? I must've done something to make her hate me, I just can't think of what._

IceMasterKris came back with a reply very quickly.

 _You know that's highly unlikely, you're letting your feelings overcome your logic. It's much more likely that something unrelated to you happened to amplify her Haphephobia, to the point that she couldn't even ignore it with you, the person she was closest to. I'm SURE she loves you, deep down. She just can't show it. You need to find a way to believe that, so it doesn't eat you up inside anymore._

Anna smiled while reading the reply. The icemaster's words were powerful, lifting her mood quite a bit.

 _Thank you so much, you've encouraged me a lot. I really needed it. Do you mind if I talk to you more from now on? I've got a feeling I'm going to need a lot of encouragement in the days ahead._

Her smile grew as she read _I don't mind at all. Message me anytime you like._


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I never do this, but I'm going to reply to reviews in my author's note for this story. Usually, I'd just send replies directly to the reviewer, but people have been reviewing without signing in, so...

Dislike canon: I assume from the content you are also the guest who left the most recent review. My answer to both reviews is...Okay? Thank you for sharing. I have no idea what you expect me to do with this information, but that's fine.

Diff Anon: Yes, wait and see would've been sufficient, but...I'm going to get a bit ranty here, so you and everyone else feel free to skip to the story if you don't want to see me harping on one of my pet peeves. By far the most common reason I see for flames is when people encounter a pairing they don't like. On that same note, by far the biggest reason for warnings I see is to avoid said flames. There is often a 'please don't hurt me' feeling accompanying the author's annoucement of future pairings in the story. I don't roll like that. If this was a book you had picked up, you wouldn't be able to ask the author about any plot twists or how things turn out. If you had a friend who read the book, you could ask them, but would you? Really? I wouldn't. I think it ruins the experience. I don't think fanfiction should differ from other forms of storytelling. You are given a summary to help you decided if you are interested. You read the first few chapters to see if it's any good. You can stop reading at any time if you suddenly find you don't like where it's heading, but if you are enjoying the read and someone tells you the end and you decide not to read the rest based on that end, but you would've actually enjoyed it despite yourself if you hadn't known and had just kept reading, you're the one who loses out in the end. Wow, that was a mouthfull. Keyboardfull. Whatever.

vinzgirl: Glad you liked it. I'll try to keep the quality high.

sedryn: Ditto on the last comment.

Disclaimer: I'm not an owner, I'm just a random shipper.

 **Hot And Cold Aren't Antonyms**

The next few weeks, Anna found a routine. She went to classes, came home and studied for a few hours, updated her blog, and then chatted with IceMasterKris, who was quickly becoming her new best friend. His-her? Probably her, Kris is usually a girl's spelling. Her advice was always very good. She was obviously someone with both feet on the ground, unlike Anna, who was frequently too caught up in her emotions to see things clearly. They also had plenty to chat about that had nothing to do with advice. Anna just had so much fun talking to her, and she guessed the feeling must be mutual, or she would've been told to back off and stop being annoying or something already. Any topic at all became interesting when talking to the Icemaster.

Her blog and her new friend helped her tremendously in dealing with her still-strained relationship with her sister. She was able to stay postive, even though Elsa refused to talk to her, refused even to look at her much of the time. Usually, once she got home from work, she just shut herself in her room all the time, just like when they were living with their parents. But Anna never stopped reaching out and being kind when they did see each other, and even without seeing any results of her efforts, she felt like maybe Elsa was beginning to thaw a little. The cold stares seemed just a bit less cold. A hint of a smile every once in a while, so small it could've been imagined.

One day, she was studying in the student lounge between classes, when a shadow fell over her and her textbook.

"Ah, California history. What a 'rich' topic to research, eh?"

She looked up to see a very handsome guy with hair as red as her own looming over her. "I don't think I get it."

"Rich, because of the gold rush."

She involuntarily snorted in laughter, instantly covering her mouth ashamedly.

"What a lovely laugh you have. I would be delighted to hear more of it." He said charmingly.

She turned bright red. "Oh, you're just saying that. My laugh is annoying."

He took her hand with both of his. "I don't know who told you that, but it certainly isn't true. I love your laugh, and I would love to know the person it came from. I am Hans." He kissed her knuckles.

"Anna." She managed, still blushing furiously.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl." He smiled. "Anna, I feel like destiny has brought us here. I was meant to meet you, now, in this very spot. My whole life has been leading to this point. Can you feel it too?"

"Yes," she whispered, swept away by his words. "I can feel it."

"I'd like to give you my number. Is that alright?"

"Of course! Here, I'll write mine down for you, too." She was over the moon. She'd never been flirted with before, let alone by such an attractive, charming guy. He was so nice and sweet and witty and...and he was paying attention to her. Somewhere deep in her subconcious she realized how attention-starved she was, and this guy was filling her need with skill and expertise.

After they exchanged numbers, he turned to go, but then he stopped and turned around. "You know, Anna, usually I wouldn't move this fast, but we've got something between us. Would you go on a date with me tomorrow night?"

"Yes!" She gasped enthusiastically. "Yes, I would love to go on a date with you, Hans!"

"That's great!" He said happily. "I'll text you the details later, okay?"

"Okay." She waved dreamily as he disappeared from sight.

She was walking on sunshine for the rest of the day, drifting through her classes with her head in the clouds. When she got home, she raced to her room to update her blog and share her happiness with her new best friend, the icemaster. But her mood dropped a bit when he/she did not respond at all how Anna expected.

 _You should be a little cautious. I don't believe in love at first sight. You can't really love someone you don't know, and you don't know this guy. Maybe he's as good a guy as you think, maybe he's not. Just don't put yourself in any compromising situations. Better safe than sorry. You probably don't realize the lengths some guys will go to get what they want, but I do. Please, take my advice and take things slow with this guy. I don't want anything to happen to you._

She was indignant, and a little angry and hurt, at the reply. How could the icemaster not believe in love at first sight? It's like, the most romantic thing in the world! Some things are just destined, Anna believed, and it made her a little mad that her friend didn't think she could recognize fate when she saw it. She decided to refrain from messaging the icemaster back for a while, and to ignore the advice and go on the date with Hans.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Olaf is fun! He kind of highjacked my chapter against my will, but it was an interesting experience. So yeah, this chapter is a departure from the dark feeling of the rest of the story. Also, the plot doesn't move much. Because Olaf. He does that. More review replies.

SleepingWithTrolls: I probably did come off as a bit rude, didn't I? Cause that kind of thing ticks me off. But you're right, people do read fanfiction primarily for the pairings much of the time, so maybe there is some legitimacy to warnings. But I still ain't giving any. Unless I feel like it.

sedryn: And getting uglier.

Elfen Lied Lover: I have never seen Elfen Lied, no. Sorry. Thought about seeing it a few times, but there was always something higher on my priority list somewhere.

Salnar: Thanks for your very in-depth reviews, those are always welcome. Your insight into the characters is appreciated. I do want to say that my characters are purposely not going to reflect their movie counterparts perfectly, there are a number of differences that are very deliberate. For instance, my take on Movie Elsa is that she is not a true introvert by nature, she's just been thrust into an introverted lifestyle by circumstance, which she adapts to more easily than most, probably. My Elsa is far more introverted than Movie Elsa, and one might say more outwardly (and possibly inwardly, we don't get to see inside her head...yet) mean, also. Circumstance and upbringing will cause more changes to the various characters as well.

Announcement: At some point, I'm not completely sure when, I'm going to write a companion piece to this one from Elsa's perspective. Possibly when I'm actually finished with this one.

Disclaimer: I'm not an owner, I'm just a random shipper.

 **Hot And Cold Aren't Antonyms**

The next day, Anna still had not come down from her emotional high. For the first time in her life she had a date, and not just any date. A date with an attractive, smart, nice, charming person, who was totally into her. It was like the universe had seen all the suffering she had been through with her sister and had decided to finally cut her a break. She floated through her classes, paying just enough attention to take notes properly.

Her last class for the day ended at three, and she got a text from Hans saying they would meet for their date at five-thirty. She decided to go to the college library to kill some time. She was too giddy to actually sit down and read, so she just wandered aimlessly through the shelves with a dreamy smile on her face.

She absently watched a small, abnormally white boy on a ladder, putting books away as she approached. He looked far too young to be a student there. Suddenly, he leaned a little too far, and the ladder began to tilt. He waved his arms around comically as he began a fall that would probably not end as comically for him. Anna rushed forward and threw herself beneath him, and they both crashed to the floor.

"Hi!" He looked down at Anna from his seat on her chest. "I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!" He squeezed her around the neck.

Anna found herself instinctively hugging him back. "Hi, Olaf! I'm Anna, and I guess I like warm hugs, too." Then she caught herself. She pushed him back until he was sitting on her legs instead and sat up, frowning at him. "But that was really dangerous. What's a kid your age doing on a ladder that tall? You need to be more careful!" She scolded him.

"I'm sorry," he said, abashed. "It's just that the books I was reading were from the top shelf, but then the library aid was busy when I finished with them and I didn't want to disturb her, so I tried to put them away myself."

"Well, next time just wait, or ask someone else for help before doing something so dangerous!" Anna shook her finger at him. Then his words registered on her. She looked up at the books he had put away. They were all advanced computer programming books. "Wait, so...when you say you were done with them, you mean you got bored with them or..."

"No, I mean I finished reading them. They weren't boring at all, there was some really good stuff in there!"

She tried to wrap her mind around this. "So you borrowed them a few months ago...?"

"No, I never actually borrowed them. I just had the library aid get them down for me earlier this morning."

"...How old are you again?"

"I'm ten. Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure most ten-year-olds aren't reading college level computer programming books."

"You know, I never really thought about it before, but I think you're right! Does that mean I'm weird?"

"Oh, no! No, no. Not at all." Then honesty compelled her to change her answer. "Well, maybe a little. But weird can be a good thing."

"Yeah, that's true." He said thoughtfully. "Weird can be a very good thing. Like chocolate sauce on pizza."

Anna shuddered involuntarily. "Olaf? Would you mind getting off of me?"

"Yes, I would." He nodded solumnly. "It's very comfortable, sitting on your lap."

She laughed. "Well, I'm sorry to ruin your comfort, but my legs are starting to fall asleep. Besides, I'd need to get up eventually."

"Oh, fine." He grumbled. He stood, soon followed by Anna. "It's almost time for class anyway."

"You're have classes here?" Anna asked incredulously, though she realized just after that if he could handle advanced computer programming, it wasn't that much of a stretch to think he might have skipped sixth through twelth grade and gone straight to college.

"Well, no, not classes. Just one class. I don't know what they want me here for anyway, the students all know what they're doing. They don't even need me. I just hand out a syllabus and I'm done. I don't even have to grade tests, the computer handles all that."

"You're...a professor here?" Anna squeaked out.

"They said it was to keep me busy so I don't hack 'dangerous, classified government files'." He used air quotes and rolled his eyes. "But it hasn't kept me busy at all. I'm just bored to death, day after day."

"Why don't you just play with your..." Anna started to say, then she realized that there aren't a lot of friends to be had on a college campus for a ten-year-old boy. It was a sobering thought. Then she brightened. "Olaf, how would you like to be my friend?"

"Really?" His eyes went as wide as saucers. She nodded and smiled. "Oh boy, my first friend ever! This is great! What should we do first?"

"Wait, don't you have to go to class though?" Anna asked concernedly.

He waved her off. "Nah, like I said, they don't even need me. No one will even notice I'm gone. Besides, celebrating having my first friend ever is way more important, even if I got in trouble!"

"Actually, Olaf, I have a date pretty soon, so I have to go anyway." His face fell, and Anna's heart clenched. "It's okay though, we'll hang out lots more after this! I don't have a lot of friends either. I'll see you soon, and we'll do the whole celebration of friendship thing then, okay?"

"Okay," he said forlornly. "I guess...I'll just go to class now. By myself. Alone. ...Bye." He waved and walked away excruciatingly slowly, repeatedly looking back at Anna along the way. She continued to wave back and smile until he was out of sight. _What a cute kid_ , she thought.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I love speculation, and I definitely encourage it. I'd be doing the same myself if I were the reader, even if I didn't put my musings in a review. However, I will not be replying with any substance to any reviews that have either questions or guesses about things not yet revealed in them, since I don't want to give away any spoilers. If you've done that, you're not getting much of a review reply. But don't take it personally, I just don't trust myself to give a neutral answer without spilling the beans.

A/N2: You guys could not possibly understand how much I didn't want to write this chapter. I get very invested in characters. At one point of my life, I refused to read or watch anything with the tragedy tag. Now that I'm writing, whenever I come to a point in a story where I have to write something bad happening, I do allllllllll kinds of things to put it off. I had to stop in the middle of the chapter like 5 times. So, even though I don't like giving warnings... **WARNING! BAD STUFF AHEAD!**

Guest1: I feel you. I also wish I was done with Hans already. The date was actually supposed to be in chapter 4, but I pushed it back at least in part because I wasn't looking forward to writing him. Plus, Olaf happened.

Salnar: I've never actually articulated it like that, but I also think of those two types of OOCness separately. In this story, what I'm trying to achieve necessitates a little bit of both, though I'm trying to limit the amount of Intentional OOC, as you put it, to the point where the characters are at least recognizable.

vinzgirl: I'm glad you thought so. I thought so too, but my own opinion on that is obviously biased.

Guest2: Again, thank you for your input. I certainly have no objections to a story with the characteristics you seem to favor, but I hope you don't expect me to change this one on the fly, here. OTOH, even though your words seem to express disapproval, you are still reading, so I guess I must be doing _something_ right.

Guest3: ...

Guest4: ...

Disclaimer: I'm not an owner, I'm just a random shipper.

 **Hot And Cold Aren't Antonyms**

As 5:30 got closer and closer, Anna became more and more giddy. She checked the time. She checked her breath. She checked her makeup. She checked the time again. She bounced and fidgeted and got so lightheaded she thought she might faint from excitement. Her very first date, ever! She had no idea what to expect, but she was sure she would love it.

She certainly wasn't expecting it when, as she waited where Hans had said he'd pick her up, a _limousine_ pulled to a stop in front of her. She gasped as Hans stepped out, looking even more handsome than she remembered.

"My lady. Your chariot awaits." He bowed and held out a hand dashingly.

"Oh, my. You really shouldn't have. This must've been so expensive." Anna squeaked.

"Nonesense. Of course I should have. You are worth all of this and so much more."

The drive was filled with small talk that Anna was sure made her look like a total idiot, since she could hardly focus on the words they spoke to each other in her state of overexcitement. She was also very distracted examining the interior of the limo, something she'd never seen before. Thankfully, Hans didn't seem to mind her inane contributions to the conversation. Or at least he didn't throw her out of the vehicle on her ear, for which she was grateful.

When the vehicle came to a stop, Hans helped her out of the car. He did not release her hand once she was out, however, which drew out the biggest blush of her young life. It was so distracting that she didn't even notice the nature of the place they had come to until they were walking through the doors.

"Angelo's? Wait, I've heard of this place! They say it's so expensive, just touching the handle of the door can make you go bankrupt!"

Hans laughed. "Do they say that? Well, don't you worry. My weekly budget won't even notice this meal."

"I can't be in here, I'm not dressed for it! They'll throw me out as soon as they see me! In fact, I don't even own any clothes that could get me in here, now that I think of it!" She tried to turn and run back out the door, but Hans still had a grip on her hand, and he didn't budge.

"Hey, hey, hey. You're with me, now. No one is throwing you out of anywhere. If they even look at you sideways they'll be looking for a new job before they can blink, so just relax. Breathe."

"Okay. Okay. I'm fine. This is fine." Anna took deep, calming breaths while Hans engaged the concierge.

"Excuse me. Reservation for Hans Isles?"

"Ah, yes sir. Right this way." They were led to a somewhat isolated table decked with candles, in an area where the light was dimmer.

A waiter approached. "May I start you off with some drinks tonight?"

"Um, do you have root beer?" Anna asked.

Hans gave a fake sounding laugh. "She's joking. We'll take a bottle of whatever your best White is for the table."

"Certainly, sir." The waiter left to fill the order, and Anna leaned in and whispered anxiously.

"Hans, I'm too young to drink."

He waved her off. "Hey, that law is stupid anyway. I say if you're old enough to vote, you're old enough to drink. Besides, a little wine never hurt anybody. You don't have to drink much, just taste it."

"Just a taste, then." Anna said dubiously.

The night quickly progressed into one of the best in Anna's entire life. Hans was an exceptional conversationalist, showing great interest in her and her life, while also displaying great knowledge of practically everything under the sun in entertaining ways. She was constantly amazed that such an amazing person was so interested in her. The food was amazing, the dessert was more amazing, everything was amazing. The word 'amazing' crossed her mind more times that night than in her entire life combined. Her greatest regret, as they were leaving, was that the night couldn't last longer, a sentiment it seemed Hans shared with her.

"Anna...I've had such a good time tonight, I don't want it to end. Perhaps we could continue this at your place?"

This froze Anna for a moment. She really, really wanted to, but Elsa had told her never to bring anyone over. But, then again, Elsa had not been sisterly toward her since forever, so she couldn't help but feel resentful at Elsa for one-sidedly shoving rules down her throat while completely ignoring her most of the time. She thought about it. It was amost 8:00 on Thursday night. Elsa got home from work at 9:30 on Thursday nights. That left about an hour for them to hang out behind Elsa's back, an idea that made Anna feel both very apprehensive and strangly empowered, before she needed to send Hans home. "Yeah, okay! Let's do it!"

The limo driver let them out and left with instructions to come back in an hour. Anna let the two of them into the apartment. No sooner were they through the door than Hans had his arms around her, giving her the first tongue kiss of her life, as he shoved the door closed with his foot.

Anna was so shocked she didn't react for a few seconds. This wasn't what she had been expecting at all. She had thought they might talk some more, cuddle in front of the tv, maybe kiss a little. The sensation of Hans's tongue down her throat robbed her of all movement. Hans was not similarly afflicted. As she felt his hands under her shirt, she finally began to respond, trying to push him away. She quickly found her attempts futile, and before she knew it, her shirt was on the floor. She fought back more violently, shoving him with all her strength, finally getting the space to say something.

"Hans, no please stop, please stop, STOP!" She yelled at last, smacking him across the face with her last word, as he had completely ignored her words and somehow gotten her bra off over her protests. She covered herself with her left arm, trembling, her eyes filling with tears.

"You hit me..." Hans said in disbelief, his eyes full of desire and beginning to fill with anger.

"I'm sorry, Hans. I'm not...I'm not ready for...that. Please. Please. I like you, but please, can't we just...take it slower than that?" She struggled to keep from sobbing.

Hans stared at her for a long, long moment. "No." He whispered. "No. You're just a cheap *****. Do you have any idea how much I spent on you tonight? More than you'll make in five years of your life. You do NOT get to tell me no." He advanced on her again.

"Hans, no, please!" She yelled, but he was done talking and done listening. As they began struggling again, a grim determination overtook Anna. _I won't be raped. I won't. He'll have to kill me first._ She fought with all the ferocity of a cornered badger, scratching and biting and clawing, refusing to give him what he wanted. Hans growled animalistically as he lost chunks of flesh to tooth and claw, his anger growing greater than his lust. He began beating her into submission. Blow after blow landed on her face, her brain jarred from the impact again and again, and her struggles grew less. She lost the strength to hold him back and her vision darkened, barely conscious. Her mind wailed uselessly in protest as she felt her pants coming off.

And then, suddenly, she couldn't feel him anymore. She heard a great crash from somewhere in the room, and a roar of pain from Hans.

"Who the **** are you?" She heard him snarl.

"This is my house." It was Elsa's voice. Anna's heart clenched in fear. _Run, Elsa_ , she wanted to scream, but she couldn't make her voice work. She prayed with all her might that Elsa would get away somehow.

"Yeah? Well, lucky me. That ***** on the floor is barely even cute, anyway. I just took her cause I thought she'd be easy. But you, you look like you'll be worth my time. C'mere, baby."

Anna heard a short sound of a scuffle, a dull snapping sound, and a scream of pain. Her heart cried out for her sister. Then, to her shock, she heard Hans's voice, clearly pained. "What are you?" He whimpered.

She barely heard Elsa's reply, in a tone she had never heard from her sister before. "A monster. And lucky you, you've made the monster angry." Another snapping sound, this one rather wet, a great scream of agony, and Anna knew no more.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: What's this?! A veritable flood of reviews? Whelp. That's going to make this section a bit longer than usual.

vinzgirl: Thanks. I did not enjoy writing it, but I think the quality was decent, at least.

Salnar: Since you mentioned things that haven't been revealed yet: ...

Midnight muse: An excellent question. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In this story, Hans doesn't think so. If I haven't made it clear yet, Anna herself doesn't think so, either. Other people might give other answers, but we only have Anna's perspective, so we don't know unless they tell her.

Jw: ...

Roses and Poison Ivy: Well, you had to wait a week. Sorry. That's the fastest I can go on these things. Thanks for reading though.

Antor2001: Yes, it did. And: ...

Kurochach: Yes, there are definite downsides to having so much faith in humanity/naivety. And: ...

Guest1: I would hope that we all sympathize with Anna here, but her innocence is part of what makes her who she is. Some caution on her part would not go amiss, though.

sedryn: Thanks for reading as long as you did, and I'm sorry we had to part ways like this. I'm probably beating a dead horse by saying this, but it goes heavily against my grain to give _any_ kind of warning, beyond what you should expect from the rating. Yet, I still did in Chapter 5. I apologize to you and everyone else who feels it was too vague, but...I'm not going to change it.

Guest2: Cliffies are kind of my MO, as you'll notice in short order if you follow any of my chapter stories. Sorry, and also, get used to it.

AlexandraS2: I don't know what language that is, but I can tell it's latin-based, so I'm going to use my two semesters of spanish ten years ago to guess that you're saying you are loving my story? TYVM! (I really hope I'm right about that translation, otherwise my reply will look pretty stupid).

Announcement: Some of the questions I've seen in the reviews will not be answered at all in this story, but will be answered in the sequel, written from Elsa's POV. That looks to be a long time from now. Sorry.

Disclaimer: I'm not an owner, I'm just a random shipper.

 **Hot And Cold Aren't Antonyms**

 _Anna dreamed. In her dream, Elsa sat next to her bed, gently stroking her hair, tears rolling down her face._

 _"I'm sorry, Anna." Dream Elsa said. "Sorry this happened to you. Sorry I couldn't protect you. Sorry I haven't been there for you. Sorry for all the pain I've caused you. Sorry you had to have a monster for a sister. You didn't deserve any of this."_

 _Anna desperately wanted to reach out and comfort Elsa, to hold her, to tell her that it was okay, that Anna wouldn't trade her sister for anyone else on the planet, that it was silly to call herself a monster. But in her dream, she couldn't speak, or even move. She just laid there helplessly as Elsa cried._

 _"I just wish I could be normal, you know? You deserve a normal sister, one who can actually touch you without...without...that." A great, shuddering sob ran through Elsa's body, and she retracted her hand._

 _The vision faded, and Anna was standing in a room facing a white silhouette that her mind identified as IcemasterKris. "I'm SURE she loves you, deep down. She just can't show it." The silhouette said, and for the first time in forever, Anna truly, truly believed it, down to her very soul. Elsa was suffering, and Anna had never seen it before through her own hurt. She felt a mixture of unspeakable relief and happiness, as well as crippling guilt over the revelation._

Anna's eyes slowly opened. She was in a hospital bed. Her parents were sitting in chairs near her bed. When they saw that she was awake, they rushed over to her in relief.

"Oh, baby, baby, I'm so glad you're okay!" Her mother hugged her tightly. "We rushed down here as soon as Elsa told us you were mugged."

"Mugged? But...Hans..." Anna tried to speak confusedly, finding that her lips were very swollen, making it difficult.

"Shhh, I'm sure his hands were very scary, but you don't have to remember it now. Just relax. You're safe now."

Anna gave up trying to think or speak, and just let her parents fuss over her. She was very confused, unable to determine what had been a dream and what was reality. Maybe the whole thing with Hans had been a dream, and she actually just got mugged coming home from school or something. That would make sense, actually, more sense than some guy treating her to a five-star meal and a limo ride and then attacking her. But no. Even if everything had been a dream, Anna would believe the contents of her dream over any reality anyone told her. Because in her dream Elsa protected her. In her dream...Elsa loved her.

Her parents gushed and doted until a doctor came in and told them that Anna needed rest. They were ushered out, and Anna greatfully settled back to sleep again.

This time when she opened her eyes, the first sight she saw was a much more welcome one. Elsa sat in the chair next to her bed, head bowed as if napping. "Elsa." Anna whispered, just to hear the sound of her name.

Before the sound even completely left her lips, Elsa looked up. If she had been napping, she certainly came alert quickly. "Anna," she said equally as softly, "You're going to be questioned soon. We need to be absolutely sure you have your facts straight." She handed Anna a piece of paper with an address. "This is where we live, where we've lived since you first moved in with me. Memorize it, and don't let anyone see it."

"But this isn't-"

"Yes, it is." Elsa cut her off. "It is. Understand?"

Anna stared at her for a moment, then nodded slowly in confusion. "Okay."

"Good. Now, you and Hans went on a date the night of the 12th. There's nothing we can do about that. But he didn't take you home. He dropped you off at a park, because it was such a nice night that you felt like walking. You were mugged on the way home. Hopefully they won't, but if anyone asks, you haven't seen Hans since. Got it?"

Anna was beginning to understand. "So Hans...that wasn't a dream. But the limo driver..."

"I know. There's nothing we can do about that. But it'll be his word against ours, and all the considerable evidence will support our story much better than his. We'll be fine."

Anna sat in silence for a moment. Her eyes began to fill with tears. "I'm sorry." She choked back a sob.

"For what?" Asked Elsa, surprised.

"I broke one of your rules. I'm always causing you trouble-"

Elsa cut her off with a humorless bark of laughter. " _You_ causing _me_ trouble?! I do believe you've got that backwards, dear sister." She got up to leave.

"Elsa, wait." She stopped in her tracks, but didn't back around. Anna took a deep breath. "No matter what you think, you're not a monster, and you never will be. Not to me."

A shudder ran through Elsa's body. She whispered a quiet phrase and was gone before her words even fully registered on Anna. "Ignorance is bliss..."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! So tell me what mortal needs my protection, Great Ancestor, you just say the word and I'm there.

Arandomshipper...

Hold on, let me tell you somthin'. Anyone foolish enough to threaten our family, vengence will be MIIIIIINE!

Arandomshipper. _These_ are the family guardians. They...

...Protect the family.

And you, oh demoted one?

I...write the chapters.

That's right. Now, finish chapter 7.

All right, people people, look alive! Some months-late review replies coming up.

Antor2001: Hopefully, at least a few of your questions were answered in this chapter.

Kurochach: ...

Guest: ...

AlexandraS2: I'm glad you like it so much. I'm certainly giving my best effort here.

Salnar: That's a bunch of really good questions, some of which will be answered in the following chapter, but a few of which I feel the need to answer here.

1: What Elsa says is that it's unavoidable to have testimony in conflict with the limo driver. From his perpective, the last time he saw Hans was when he dropped him off at Elsa and Anna's apartment, and the last person he saw Hans with was Anna. Thus, having the police question Anna is also unavoidable. There are details about why your alternative explaination won't work, but unfortunately, they won't actually come into play until the follow-up story. Regardless, Anna is going to be suspected and questioned as the last person who saw Hans alive...unless the limo driver's testimony is thrown into question.

2: The problem of the parents. Originally, I didn't intend to include them at all past chapter 1, but as I was writing the chapter 6, it seemed a bit unrealistic for something so drastic to happen to Anna without them being informed. That does now leave a problem with the change of address, which I will fix with an explaination that is just a bit awkward. Elsa never gave her parents her address. When she and her mother talked over the phone, she only told her the general area she was living in. Then she sent the address directly to Anna, let's say through snail mail. Again, this part of the story will be clarified in the follow up story from Elsa's perspective. The parents could certainly have gotten it then, but they didn't bother, since they could get it anytime they needed it, having both daughters' cellphone numbers.

3: The plot hole from a behavioral standpoint. Certainly, a guy _shouldn't_ do something like that, but believe it or not, ******* who do this **** do indeed exist. The story being from Anna's perspective, I haven't had much chance to explore Hans's character, but for those who know him (in this story, in which there are a number of differences from his movie character), this is not only believable behavior from him, it's not even surprising.

DarkChampion: ? I literally have no idea how to respond to that, except to say...I literally have no idea how to respond to that.

Disclaimer: I'm not an owner, I'm just a random shipper.

 **Hot And Cold Aren't Antonyms**

A few days after waking, Anna was more than ready to go home. Confined to her bed for no reason at all in her opinion, she was bored out of her skull. They were being far too cautious with her as far as she was concerned, concussion or not. She suspected that Elsa had gone behind her back to instruct the doctors to treat her like she was made of glass. The upshot was that she was very, very caught up on her studies...and she was about to explode from pent up energy. Anna was not the type to sit in one place for hours at a time, let alone days.

After it was apparent that she was more or less fine, their parents had returned home, their parting words urging her to visit at the earliest opportunity. They made no mention of visiting her and Elsa, of course. Over a decade later, it seemed Elsa and their parents still could not standto be in the same room together, and Anna still had no idea why.

Elsa also refrained from visiting after their last conversation. Anna took this in stride, having just a bit of insight now about why Elsa acted like she did. She was suffering from some kind of self-image issue. Anna was filled with determination and confidence, her path finally clear before her. She would just have to continue to confirm with word and deed at every opportunity that she knew what a wonderful person her sister was, even if Elsa herself did not.

There were three visits from the LAPD. The first time, they asked about her attacker, who she claimed wore a mask, preventing any kind of description of facial features. The second was to inquire about Hans, who had been placed on the missing person list. She gave them the story Elsa had told her to. The third was also regarding Hans, apparently after her testimony conflicted with that of the limo driver, who it seemed was actually Hans's personal driver and longtime friend, and that had been his personal limo, not a rented one. She was exceedingly nervous for all three visits, but especially the last one. They were far more thorough and insistent the third time around. She answered 'I don't know' more times than she could count, repeating her simple story over and over again. It must've been good enough, because they hadn't been back for a fourth visit.

As harrowing as that experience was, it was almost preferable to the boredom assaulting her now. Without visits from her family and the police, she had very little to do aside from studying. She had her laptop, her textbooks, and a few novels. Whoopdedoo. It was all too apparent how few friends she'd made at UCLA. The ten-year-old Olaf was the only one, and she didn't even have his contact information. Of course, there was also her best friend, IceMasterKris, but Anna was very reluctant to message her, reluctence born of a mixture of shame and guilt. Anna had ignored her advice, and even gotten angry over what had actually been a very kind and gentle caution, in retrospect. Not to mention spot on. Now Anna had no idea what she would say next time she messaged the Icemaster. One thing she was sure of, though. She would say nothing about what had happened to her. No point in worrying her friend needlessly over something that was already over and done with. In any case, she wasn't ready to reconnect yet, so she just wallowed in boredom. With nothing else to do, she read for a mind-numbing amount of time, until it seemed her eyes would fall right out of her head, the words blurring into a senseless jumble.

Her state of textbook-induced zombification was disturbed when a man entered the room. He was a big man in a blue fedora and overcoat, but his face was hard to make out. Maybe it was from studying too much, but his features seemed to blur like the words of her textbook moments before.

"Anna Arendelle?"

"That's me!" She said brightly. "And you are?"

"Vic Sage, Hub City Police Department."

She quailed internally, but put on a brave front. She had made it through three interviews, knowing that if she screwed up, it would not be her who paid the price, but Elsa. She would make it through another, and as many more as it took, to protect her sister. "Hub City? A long way from home, aren't you, Detective?"

"Indeed."

She was a bit puzzled when he didn't offer anything more. "Well, I assume you have some questions for me?"

He seemed to smile at this, though it was hard to tell with the trouble she was having seeing his face clearly. "Maybe I do. Or maybe you have some questions for me. We'll see how this thing goes, shall we?"

A/N2: I'm back! I'm sooperdooper extra busy these days, and I don't know when my next update will be, but it won't take as long as this one did, and you can thank my fans for that. Yes, that's right. I put up a poll about which story I need to update the most, and all my fans voted for this one. All two of them.

I'm going to apologize in advance for my next chapter, in which there will be a lot of exposition. Not the best writing tactic in the world, but I can't see a way around it this time, so exposition it is. I dithered and dithered on who I should use for that exposition, strongly considering Shawn and Gus (actually decided on them, then changed my mind at the last second), Columbo, Dr. Sloan, Shinichi and a sidekick (could've been Ran, Hattori, Kogoro, ect.), Basil and Dawson, and many more options. I also considered writing multiples of this section of the story using my various options, but I am forced to give up on that idea, much to my chagrin. I just don't have the time for it. Maybe I'll come back and do it sometime when I do have time.

I discovered something quite horrifying in my absence. Even when you are in no position to write anything, it doesn't prevent plot bunnies from attacking you! Isn't that awful? Now I've got a gigantic backlog of oneshot ideas that need to come out, with no time to write them. Pure. Torture.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I don't have much to say. If you vote for me, all of your wildest dreams will come true. Review Replies!

vinzgirl: Thanks for the encouragement.

Guest:...you were still here? Well...thanks for continuing to read, I guess, instead of, you know, doing something you actually WANT to do, or whatever. On a side note, you seem to have a very specific idea for exactly what each and every Frozen fanfic should entail, which means you must surely have written one or more yourself, so please post a link on your next review so I can read it. It sounds like an interesting story. This is not sarcasm. I seriously want to read it.

AlexandraS2: Again with the me not being great at Spanish thing, but I can tell this is some form of encouragement, which I am thankful for. Trying my best for you and all the many, many two others who actually seem to enjoy this story.

Disclaimer: I'm not an owner, I'm just a random shipper.

 **Hot And Cold Aren't Antonyms**

"Where to begin, where to begin." The trench-coated man mused. "I suppose it's always best to start with the facts and work our way to the more difficult questions. I just so happen to have here with me your statements on two separate cases, which, by some coincidence, seem to have happened right on top of each other. I'm sure _you_ know what you said, but lets get it all out there anyway, shall we? It's as good a starting point as any."

Anna cringed at the ever so slight emphasis he placed on the word 'separate'. "Okay," She said with some trepidation.

"Excellent. Now, the first case is rather simple. The very reason you lie on that hospital bed is that you were attacked on your way home from a date on the night of the fifteenth. You claimed to be unable to identify or describe your attacker, correct?"

"Yes, that's right." Anna spoke with as much confidence as she could muster. His phrasing continued to cause her distress, in particular the use of the word 'claimed'.

He skimmed over the paper. "No eyewitnesses, no evidence recovered at the alleged scene of the crime..."

"Are you trying to imply that I'm a liar, Mr. Sage?" Anna said frostily. Inside, she was in full on panic mode.

He looked up with a start, suprise evident despite his featureless face. "...I apologize. That is simply my manner of speaking, though I see now why you might find it offensive. I assure you, I did not come here today to make any kind of accusation. I hope you can believe me when I tell you that I am here as much for your benefit as my own, if not more."

Anna found that she did believe him. Was it possible for someone to be equal parts mystery and sincerity? He seemed to make it so. His open emotions belied his obscured face. On the other hand, Anna knew herself to be gullible to the extreme, a point life had seen fit to ram home to her in a most painful manner very recently. She answered reluctently. "Go on."

"Thank you." He inclined his head. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes. This case is officially still open, but with so little to go on, no real progress is being made. Unofficially, no further investigation will take place. It's a dead end. I hope you're not to broken up about that." He finished with a bit of humor in his voice.

"I couldn't have hoped for any more than that." Anna said, attempting to convey with her tone the opposite of what she meant.

"Indeed." He shuffled the papers. "Next, we have a much more complex case, in which you are only involved at the fringes. Hans Isles, semi-celebrity socialite, heir to a portion, along with his siblings, of the great Isles fortune...has gone missing. You were questioned extensively on that case, as, according to Hans Isles's personal driver and best friend William Caulder, you were the last person to see him alive. His testimony contrasted sharply with yours. He claimed to have dropped the two of you off at your residence, while you claim to have been dropped off at the park, and to have walked home."

He paused. "Do you mind if I sit? I've been on my feet a lot over the last few weeks." Anna shook her head, and he made use of the provided seating. "Ahhhh, much better. Now, where was I?"

"The contradiction between my statement and the driver's." Anna supplied helpfully, then immediately kicked herself. That wasn't a topic she wanted to be talking about.

"Ah, yes. As I was saying, there were inconsistencies between the statements given by the two of you. However, the easily verifiable evidence made it clear he was lying. Now, we reach the point where I have information you do not, because I'm privy to the official investigation, and the evidence gathered. You've been living with your sister Elsa, who owns her own apartment in a completely different location than the one Mr. Caulder provided. This is a matter of public record. Meanwhile, the place he claimed was yours, where he claimed to have dropped you off with Mr. Isles, is officially owned by Isles corporation, and no one is on the lease, or has been for years, also a matter of public record. A physical examiation of the apartment turned up some very interesting evidence. Not only was there no trace whatsoever of you or your sister ever living there, we also found Mr. Caulder and Mr. Isles's DNA all over the apartment...and a large stockpile of heroin. The implications are very clear. Mr. Isles has obviously been involved in drug trade. How he concealed it this long or why he would get involved in such risky business when his family is so wealthy is unknown, but there is no doubt within the department that his disappearance is related to that."

Anna was shocked. She knew Elsa must have set this up somehow, but how she could pull something like this off, Anna had no idea. It hardly seemed possible. In the meantime, she had a concern. "What will happen to the driver? Mr. Caulder?"

The detective shrugged. "Uncertain. He is currently under investigation, as the evidence suggests that he either has something to do with Mr. Isles's disappearance, or at the least, that he knows more than he's telling. I doubt he'll end up doing time, however. Without a body, this will remain a missing person case. Neither he nor anyone else can be charged with murder. The only thing he can be charged with is obstuction of justice. He can't even be charged with possession, since he doesn't own the apartment the drugs were found in."

"I see." Anna was relieved. She didn't want Elsa to be caught, but she didn't want someone else blamed for something that she still viewed as her own fault, either.

"And now, I have some questions for you, Ms. Arendelle. Do you know your sister's current profession?"

"I do," Anna answered, puzzled. It didn't seem to be a relevant question. "She's a professor of criminology at UCLA."

"And do you know how long she's been doing that, where she got her degree, and what her previous line of work was?"

"I...don't." Anna was embarrassed. She felt it was reasonable to expect to know those kinds of things, but Elsa did not volunteer information about herself as a general rule, and Anna was far too intimidated to inquire. She was happy when Elsa would talk to her at all. Asking about something like that and running the risk that her sister would take offense and shut her out even more than before was not something she ever viewed as an option.

"Have you ever heard of an insurance company called Frozen Assets?"

"I have not."

Mr. Sage nodded. "Unsurprising. They don't advertise. They insure other companies against bankruptcy. They have offices all over the world. Your sister has been an employee with them since she was eighteen years old. Her official title with them was 'personnel aquisition'."

"I'm not sure what this has to do with anything, Detective." Anna was beginning to feel a bit apprehensive, though she couldn't put her finger on exactly why.

"Patience, Ms. Arendelle. I'm getting there, but first you need to understand where I'm coming from. Three years ago, I was working a case in my hometown of Hub City. Politics and crime seem to go hand in hand there, always have as long as I've been alive. I've busted so many corrupt politicians with ties to every criminal organization imaginable that I've lost count. This particular case was different, though. I had strong reason to believe that the man I was after, Richard Weaselton, was the current head of the pyramid. He had his hand in everything from drug trafficking to the modern slave trade, and every other smalltime politician and gang leader in the city under his thumb. If we could get him, the whole thing would go down like a house of cards. We were getting close, when he just seemed to disappear overnight. At first, I was sure he'd known we were after him and gone into hiding, but he failed to resurface. In addition, every other big name in the city also disappeared one by one in the following months. Someone else got to him."

Anna was fascinated. It was like one of those crime dramas come to life. "Who was it? Did he get one of the big organizations like the Yakuza mad at him or something?"

"No, he was a master of diplomacy. He was on excellent terms with anyone that might cause him trouble. They were all quite distraught at his disappearance, I'm sure. I spent a lot of time and effort looking for any kind of clue I could. Not a bit of evidence turned up. No bodies were found. It was like they were all just sucked up into a vortex or something. Well, if I have a vice, it is most certainly curiosity. I couldn't let it go, despite the total and complete lack of leads. I started looking for anything that might have changed in the city leading up to the disappearances, anything at all, and, lo and behold, I turned up one very interesting anomaly. A little-known company called Frozen Assets opened up an office in the city just a week prior."

The apprehension turned into a sinking feeling in her gut. She was now pretty sure she knew where this was going. "That doesn't seem like much to go on."

"Oh, it wasn't." Mr. Sage agreed. "Practically nothing, really. And actually, one might even say that I still don't have anything to go on right now. A hunch led me to investigate that seemingly-insignificant detail, and it let me to more hunches and vague factoids that certainly cannot be connected in any concrete manner. For instance, that Frozen Assets has at least one office on every continent but Antarctica, and in the capital cities of fifty different countries. Or that all of their funding comes from a customer list of exactly ten other companies, which has not changed since their founding thirty years ago, and that those companies are dummy companies owned by the C.I.A., though I can't prove that last fact, mind you. Or that since joining Frozen Assets at eighteen, one Elsa Arendelle has been transferred over one hundred times. Or that most of the cities she's transferred to have had at least one mysterious disappearance shortly after, sometimes many."

Anna's heart raced and her breathing quickened as she took all this in. "So, what? What are you trying to tell me? That my sister is like, a-a-an assassin, or something?"

"Or something." He shrugged complacently. "I rather suspect no assassin in the world begins to approach her body count. Although body count may be the wrong word. She doesn't seem to leave any bodies behind."

Fear was slowly working its way through Anna's veins, but not fear for herself, fear for Elsa. This man was highly intelligent and driven, and he had so much information already. "Are you expecting me to run away from Elsa in fear now, and maybe give you some kind of dirt on her? Because if you are, it won't work. I don't care what you're telling me right now, Elsa is a good person. You don't know Elsa, and I do. I'm not leaving her."

Mr. Sage seemed surprised. "No, that's not what I'm expecting, Ms. Arendelle."

"Then what? Why tell me all this? What do you want from me?"

"You mistake my intentions completely, Ms. Arendelle. I merely ask the questions, and find the information. I don't tell people what to do with it. Your decision to stand by your sister is commendable. You're absolutely right that I don't know Elsa. That's a great deal of why I'm here right now, to discover what I may. The fact that she inspires such loyalty in a person such as yourself speaks well of her, all the more now that it is an informed decision. And now, Ms. Arendelle, I think it's time I take my leave. I highly doubt we'll meet again."

And he was gone, as quickly and mysteriously as he'd appeared.

A/N2: I've taken on a beta as of this chapter to help with the creative process, as I've hit a bit of a roadblock in writing this story. Anyone else who would like to get involved is welcome. Just pm me, and I'll add you to the team. I make no guarantees about when and where and whether I will use ideas, but I'm happy to have more input.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I'm not an owner, I'm just a random shipper.

 **Hot And Cold Aren't Antonyms**

The car ride home was painfully silent. Elsa's walls were back up, stronger than ever, as if her one moment of openness had never happened. Maybe it hadn't. Anna might've dreamed it up. Despair warred with hope as Anna involuntarily and continuously glanced at her sister's beautiful but expressionless face, carved from stone, looking for some sign of the person she had glimpsed for one agonizingly hopeful moment in the hospital.

Elsa showed Anna around their new apartment quickly and efficiently, with a minimum of words, just as she had the first time. But when she turned to leave, Anna could no longer bear it. Hope won over fear. She threw her arms around Elsa from behind and hugged her like her life depended on it. Elsa immediately stiffened up.

"Anna. Let go." She said in a dangerous voice.

"I won't." Anna said fiercely. "Never. Do you have any idea what it's like to think the person you love and look up to the most in the world hates your guts? To think that you're such an annoyance they can't even stand the sight of you? To believe that for YEARS, only to find out you were wrong, that they really do care? You screwed up, Elsa. If you wanted to keep me at arms length, you never should've let me find out you still care. Now I know you love me, and I'm not letting you go until I hear you say it."

Elsa made a sound that was some kind of horrific mix of a laugh and a sob. "Of course I love you! You silly little girl, how could anyone not? Now let me go!"

Her voice rose in pitch, panic starting to break through. As soon as Anna released her, she retreated to the couch and buried her face in her hands. Anna could see that her whole body was trembling violently. Her heart broke at the visible signs of her sister's debilitating fear.

"What happened to you, Elsa? What hurt you so badly to be so afraid of being touched?" Anna asked quietly.

"Hurt me?" To Anna's shock, Elsa actually giggled. "What could possibly hurt me? Nothing hurt me, my dear, sweet, innocent sister. Nothing can. It is me that hurts everything else. It is me that destroys everything I touch. And you, foolish girl, can't help but to keep sticking your hand in the fire, no matter how often you're burned, can you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. The only time I've ever been hurt by you is emotionally, when I thought you hated me. You would never harm me."

"Oh, no? What's under that white streak in your hair?"

Anna reached up to touch the thin line of white hair that started at the right side of her forehead. She pressed a little harder to touch the uneven skin she knew was underneath. "What about it? I've always had this."

"Not always." Elsa's voice cracked. "You couldn't possibly remember, but that was me. Your beloved role model of a big sister gave you a lifelong scar when you were just two years old. You nearly died. Because of me. Why am I scared? Because you have no sense of self-preservation."

"Okay. Fine. You're right." Anna was slightly shaken by the revelation, but it did nothing to dent her determination. "I have no sense of self-preservation. I'm going to get myself into trouble, go where I shouldn't go, trust people I shouldn't trust, do things I shouldn't do, and generally put myself in danger. I'm practically a dead woman walking already. And you know what the only way to keep me safe is? You're going to have to stay as close to me as possible. Never let me out of your sight. Our whole lives."

Elsa's laugh finally sounded genuine. "That's like asking a wolf to be a sheepdog."

"Maybe wolves actually make the best sheepdogs, and people just haven't figured it out yet." Anna sat next to Elsa on the couch and oh-so-slowly reached out to take her hand. Elsa stiffened up again, but did not pull away. "I happen to trust this wolf with everything that I have."

"A good way to get eaten." Elsa growled, almost playfully.

"I'll accept that fate if it comes to that." Anna said with complete sincerity, but Elsa immediately stood and yanked her hand back.

"You don't mean that. You don't know what you're saying. You don't know me, you don't know the things I've done. Horrible things. You might trust yourself with me, but I don't."

"But you can learn to. I don't know your past. I accept that maybe you've done some bad things back then. But we've lived together for months now, and you haven't hurt me. You saved me from Hans. Haven't you earned yourself some trust? Can't you let me be close to you? Can't we try to build a relationship, starting now? Can't you just TRY?"

Elsa was silent for so long, Anna was sure she would walk away without answering, but she finally did. "Okay. I'll try. But listen. For your sake, please listen. Baby steps. Do not rush me on this. I am scared, so, so scared for you, but I do want this. I want to be your sister again, more than anything in the world. I want to try. But don't push me."

Anna broke into tears. "I won't. I'll take whatever you give me. It's all I've ever wanted for so many years, it's hard to believe I actually heard you say that."

Elsa wiped her own eyes and sniffed. "You're actually crazy, you know that?"

"But in a good way, right?"

"In the best of ways." Elsa seemed to struggle with herself, and then, in a motion that oozed awkwardness, she punched Anna lightly on the arm, said "See ya around, sport.", and retreated to her rooms with a goofy smile on her face.

Anna was practically exploding with happiness. She threw herself on her bed with a grin so wide she could almost feel it on the back of her skull, and a desire to shout her extasy to the heavens. Elsa loved her! She even said it! To her face! They were going to have a real relationship, for the first time in eleven years!


End file.
